The “Die Hard” actor was diagnosed with both aphasia and frontotemporal dementia.
Emma Heming Willis is continuing to raise awareness about her husband Bruce Willis’ illnesses and the early symptom she never in her “wildest dreams” would’ve imagined was a sign he was sick.
Bruce Willis was diagnosed with aphasia, a neurological condition that affects one’s ability to communicate, in 2022. The following year, the “Die Hard” actor received an additional diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
Heming Willis spoke to NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas on Tuesday about the initial symptom Willis had that she recognized, but didn’t realize was a warning at the time.
“I think for me what I noticed was that his stutter started to come back,” the model said. “Bruce had a severe stutter when he was a child that he held onto, actually, his life, but was able to kind of get a handle on it, I think, in his adult years. Then I started seeing that it started coming back. Never in my wildest dreams would I think that was now becoming a symptom of FTD.”
She previously opened up about their miscommunications prior to the actor’s health diagnosis, which made her think they were heading for a divorce.
“I felt like my marriage was crumbling,” the author told Vanity Fair in September.
Heming Willis told the outlet that she thought to herself, ”‘What is going on? This is not the person that I married. Something is just so off,’” she said, admitting that she “just couldn’t figure it out.”
The personality clash led the two to eventually see a doctor.
“I finally understood that those crazy marital issues were not Bruce,” Heming Willis said in a September interview with Oprah Winfrey. “Neither were those off moments and subtle shifts in his personality. They were the result of his brain being dismantled, taking part of the husband I knew and loved with it.”
Heming Willis recently published a book about her caretaking journey, called “The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope and Yourself on the Caregiving Path.”
In her interview with NewsNation on Tuesday, she described caring for the actor as “one of the most rewarding and transformative experiences of my life.”
Bruce Willis’ Wife Says She Considered Divorce Prior To Actor’s Diagnosis
Emma Heming Willis got vulnerable about the state of the two’s marriage.
Bruce Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, opened up about the years of heartbreak and uncertainty she faced before the actor’s health diagnosis.
In a new interview with Vanity Fair, the model admitted that she even considered divorcing Willis at one point.
“I felt like my marriage was crumbling,” Heming Willis shared.
She admitted that she thought to herself, “‘What is going on? This is not the person that I married. Something is just so off.’ And I just couldn’t figure it out.”
Heming Willis previously spoke about the “chaotic” two years before Willis’ diagnosis, and said she first noticed things were off when “annoying” miscommunications eventually shifted into major personality changes.
“That instinct made me realize that we should go to the doctor,” the now-47-year-old told Oprah Winfrey during an interview on her podcast earlier this month.
“I finally understood that those crazy marital issues were not Bruce,” she explained. “Neither were those off moments and subtle shifts in his personality. They were the result of his brain being dismantled, taking part of the husband I knew and loved with it.”
When the “Sixth Sense” actor was eventually diagnosed with aphasia ― a condition that impairs the ability to communicate ― in 2022, things began to add up.
The next year, he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia.
Willis’ ex-wife, Demi Moore, also opened up to Winfrey about what it’s been like to see the man she shares three children with change amid his health battle.
“It’s difficult. It’s hard to see somebody who was so, you know, vibrant and strong and so directed shift into this other parts of themself,” Moore said.
Why Emma Willis Revealed Bruce Willis Is Living In Separate Home, Despite ‘Criticism & Judgment’
Emma Heming Willis reveals why she’s been so open about her family’s decision, despite knowing “the criticism and the judgment that people receive is off the charts.”
Emma Heming Willis, the wife of Bruce Willis, shared why she she revealed her husband — who is battling Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) — is living in a second, separate home with his care team, knowing the backlash such decisions sometimes comes with.
Appearing on the Tuesday, October 28, episode of NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas Reports, Emma said the public’s reaction to decisions like her can be “off the charts,” as reported by Us Weekly.
“The criticism and the judgment that people receive is off the charts,” the 49-year-old stated during the emotional sit-down. “But I wanted to be very transparent, and I hope that it would support the next caregiver who has to make a really hard decision like the one that I had to make.”
The mother of two explained that this wasn’t some snap decision and that it was an incredibly tough call to make for the entire family. ““I think that it’s the hardest decision for anyone to have to make, Emma explained. “I mean, that didn’t come lightly. These are hard decisions that we have to make as caregivers.”
Emma made it clear that her primary concern was making the “best and safest decision” for both Bruce, 70, and their young daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11. “We have young children in our house,” she noted, before sharing a poignant detail about the action star’s wishes.
“I know that Bruce wouldn’t want our children’s lives to be clouded by his diagnosis,” she added. “And I wanted other caregivers to feel seen about this idea of that if it comes time to place their loved one in a care facility.”
(Sidenote: the Die Hard star is also the father of three older daughters, Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31, with ex-wife Demi Moore)
Emma first broke the news about Bruce’s new, separate setup during the Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey – A Diane Sawyer Special — which dropped on Hulu on August 26 — explaining that the single-story residence was closer to their family home and “more tailored to their needs, not his needs,” referring to the kids. Despite the separate addresses, the family is clearly still close, with Emma confirming that she and the girls spend “a lot” of time at Bruce’s place, stopping by for breakfast and dinner visits.
She also revealed the heartbreaking way she told her daughters about Bruce’s second home in her new book, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path.
“We’ve come to a point in Daddy’s disease where the care he requires is changing. It has to be more tailored to his every need,’ I told them. ‘And you should be in a home that is more tailored to your needs now,'” she wrote. “‘Also, Daddy would want you to have playdates, sleepovers, and more freedom than you’ve been able to have here. That would make him so happy.'”
Heming Willis assured the girls it would be their “second home,” filled with some of their own belongings. She described Bruce’s new space as “a place they’d keep personal things like toys, arts and crafts supplies, bathing suits, pjs, and games, and that we could go stay with him anytime they wanted.”
While she admitted the move was “painful,” she said it was ultimately what Bruce would have wanted.
“Even though they’d lived with his disease for so long that they understood, and even though this decision ensures Bruce’s overall well-being and safety and allows our young children to thrive, it was an uncertain and painful time for us,” she explained. “In fact, it’s still painful for me. After all, this is my husband, and having him in another home was not part of the future we’d mapped out together. You really can’t dream this stuff up.”
Bruce Willis’ Daughter Tallulah, 31, Shares Rare Photo with Little Sister Evelyn, 11\
Tallulah proudly showed off her “big sister energy” in an Instagram post on Tuesday, Oct. 28
NEED TO KNOW
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Talluah Willis is the half-sister of Bruce Willis’ youngest children, Evelyn, 11, and Mabel, 13
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The 31-year-old shared rare photos with Evelyn in an Instagram post on Tuesday, Oct. 28
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Bruce shares Evelyn and Mabel with his wife Emma Heming Willis
Tallulah Willis is a proud big sister.
On Tuesday, Oct. 28, the 31-year-old daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis shared rare photos with her half-sister, Evelyn, 11, in honor of a big win on the basketball court.
“WE WON!!! 🏀🏀 big sister energy heckn yeah!! Love my bb @emmahemingwillis,” Tallulah captioned her Instagram post.
View this post on Instagram
In the first snap, Tallulah smiled from ear to ear as she wrapped her arms around her youngest sibling, whom Bruce shares with his wife, Emma Heming Willis, dressed in a red basketball uniform.
The photos were taken outside and in front of what appeared to be an outdoor basketball court. Tallulah seemingly dressed for the occasion in a red sweatshirt and jeans.
In the comments, fans pointed out how much the sisters look alike, with one commenter expressing that Evelyn looks like Tallulah’s “little beautiful twin.”
Demi Moore/Instagram
Bruce Willis with his family
In addition to Evelyn, Bruce and Heming Willis are also parents to 13-year-old Mabel. Bruce and Moore share daughters Rumer, 37, and Scout, 34, in addition to Tallulah.
Bruce’s daughters, along with Moore and Heming Willis, share a close bond.
When they announced in February 2023 that Bruce was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD), the blended family signed their statement as “Ladies of Willis/Moore.”
Speaking to Town & Country in October 2024, Heming Willis said that she’s not hiding her husband’s condition from their young daughters.
Emma Heming Willis/Instagram
Emma Heming Willis and Bruce Willis with their two daughters
“I’ve never tried to sugarcoat anything for them,” she said. “They’ve grown up with Bruce declining over the years. I’m not trying to shield them from it.”
In an interview with The Times nearly a year later, she shared that Evelyn and Mabel’s relationship with their father had continued to evolve.
“You can see the tenderness of it,” Heming Willis told the U.K newspaper in September. “The girls don’t need him to be this or do that. They have really adapted to his disease and they know how to move around him. It’s beautiful, but it’s hard for them. They miss him.”
